just some stuff from the city

kill my television

kill my television?kill your television.

honestly...I agree with this ideain theory

I know that I would be a more productive person, a healthier person, and maybe a happier person if I did not have televisiontelevision is a habitual addictiondo I turn it on because there is something to watch?I watch because I turn it on...

but honestly... if you are going to do television you need to do cableand well... if you do cable you need to do HBOHBO is really what justifies it for me

a few things georgy carlin on now, bill maher, the documentaries are amazing (they know this.. they tell us.. they are right) last letters home in itself is worth a month's cost of cablethe series are great... entourage, sopranos, six feet under.... I may hate sex in the city now... but I used to love it

enough blogmore george carlinoh... curb your enthusiasm has already made me a better personon a few occassions I halted my behavior as it was about to become too much like something larry david would do

not all cyclists are messengers... not all messengers are hypsters on trackbikes

saturday... this saturday... today

this morning neither lisa nor myself made it to yogawe are out of our routineit is tough to get the rhythm backit is time to get back into the rhythmit is time to get back into yoga

we took the dogs and the boys for a hike in Rock Creek that we do not usually hitwell, we do this hike with the dogs individuallynot normally togethernot normally with the kidsbut, the trailhead to this section of woods is a hike from the housea hike that is beyond the current span of our children's endurancethere are more logical loops that offer as much earlier on the hikewithout demanding that I carry everyone back on my shoulders

while on the trails I was admiring how packed and dry the earth was beneith my feetthe air was also warm and dryas I walked the path I imagined differed trails in the area that I would really love to rolling on at that exact momentthe thought of shaffer was more appealing to my mood than gambrilalthough gambril started to sound pretty niceknew it would not happen, both 29ers are at the shop and well... not sure if my old Rocky Mountain Blizzard is currently trail worthyaccepted something I had already plottedmy riding would be on the road for another week or so

we walked forwardneither boy moving at their sometime olympic paceI drifted back to the moment and tried to get the boys to pick up the pacea few quick steps and grant was demanding that I put him on my shouldersthis is often the case with a 2 year oldone day they walk miles the next they refuse to walk a few feeton this day grant got a free ride up the climbs and motored at a mind boggling pace for a child who just past his second birthday

the temperature and the state of the trail had me yearning for some off road ridingknowing it was not an option I tried to get psyched to take the boys out in the burley trailerthoughts of an hour and a half pulling the trailerlooping back on the mall for various monuments and the kite flying festivalmaybe try to occestrate some monument photos with the kids

I proposed this to the boysgrant was gamedean was notthis was fine with meless weight.... nearly fifty pounds less weight

we finished our hikethe boys doing much better with being on their feet as we backtrackedthe dogs had been able to chase a few squirels and splash in the creekwe returned to the car for some saturday afternoon errands

the errands took us to the post office and a bagel store that is closed for businesswithout food everyone was irratablewe drove with four passagers each whinning until we arrived at a park in georgetownwe arrive just as my brother and his sons leftthey had a noon children's birthday partyour hike did not free us up in time for much more than crossing pathsthe cousins were all excited to see each othercousins is a special relationship similiar to that of siblingsmaybe with less fighing... or so we will see

the park offered much entertainmentkept everyone distracted from their hunger for some timewe left before anyone got irratablehome for lunch momma lisa made up an assortment of stuff for the boyswhile I had some cerealas we wound up eating lunch I started to try and get the boys hypedthinking I could sell dean on the trailerno dice rock slicedean was not up for the trailerwhich was fine... it is good to get some one on one with granteven if he becomes sleeping dead weight 10 minutes into my heavily weighted pullbefore dean could get loud and bossy about not wanting to goI said that it was finehe could either go in the trailer or go shopping with mommyin an almost smarmy way he said he would go shopping with mommy

grant in hearing this decided to swap optionsgrant was abandoning the trailer option for shopping with mommymy ride just dropped another 30 pounds in child and 30 pounds in trailerit also altered my duration of potential ride time

I only had the time lisa would be out at the store... and then somethat time is a variablea variable of an unknown that would not be determined until after the ridethen I would know if I rode too long or if I could have ridden longer

lisa packed up the car with boysI rushed downstairs and put on some gearknowing I did not have much timeit was time to maximize my window of opportunitylike batman down the batpole and out of the bat caveI was in black tights heading out of my basement and into the alley with a bike over my shoulder

down park roadout of mount pleasantdown rock creek parkway/beach drivethen through the gate onto the closed section of beach driveclosed to car trafficopen to recreation traffic

there was plenty of trafficdogs on leasheskids on scootersparents helmetless riding along side of their helmeted children still riding with training wheelscoming the opposite direction can an long list of road ridersno familiar facesbut lots of nice bikesmany older gentlemen maintaining a good paceas each rider comes at me and passes I try to imagine how far they roadwhat paths they tookwhere they will end up

ahead there is a petite rider moving at a pace similar to mineI fight the desire to catch this rideas I am trying to stay in the saddle and just spinno muscleno burnjust pedal.... not not long enough to qualify for LSD (long slow distance)but something of that ideamy riding is not so much a science of trainingjust sort of rides I do and have done

as I settle in on a pace the rider pulls a little further aheadat last glance I decide that this rider is femaleas the road curved the small female road rider drifted out of sight

there were points where I got a little closer to the same female road cyclistbut I fought the urge to pick up the pace and tried to focus on spinningand if not spinningriding with more rotation than musclewhich means riding a gear or two easier than I would normally be pushing

the wind was in my facein my mind I tried to plot my course and estimate my timethe four or five hour road ride is not really my thingmy numbers were more trying to figure and hour and a half to threeknowing when I start the mental debate the number three would immediately be tossed aside

more road cyclist came the opposite directionmore in a post ride chatty state then they were more than likely in some time agoI imagined who was coming from where.... short up and back for them? or are they on their way back from Sugarloaf? mysteries whose answers I will never know mysteries hardly worth consideringbut these are the things that occupy my mind as I ride on the road

at some point I get caught in a light and she disappearswhich is fineas I am focused on my own thing

just as I am thinking about the flying squirrels that I seldom see and the bat house I have been meaning to build I feel the moistness in the air start to buildthe air grew a tad more coldsome solid yet sparse cold rain drops fellmy route was still under considerationrather than letting turning around to avoid getting cold and wet becoming option oneI decided on riding this section of road out and backonly turning right onto the Capitol Crescent trail for some more gentle downhill spinning taking me home

as I come around a corner I see that same small female road ridershe is along side the road about to start up againI imagine she has put on some warmer gearmaybe full finger gloves or arm warmers

we exchange smiles as I passI refrain from mentioning the headphonesas soon as she mounts the bike she is making the passas I am not moving too fast I am easy catchshe drifts into that same paceonly a little faster than meI try to pace off myself rather than her

she pulls away and is often hidden by turnsit is an unententional game of cat and mouseshe gets caught at a light I get to continue my pace pastonly to be passed shortly after

on each pass there is no warning or alertthis is not the roadie wayI always try to accept that this is the roadie wayas I am more of a fred type that likes to give a hearty warningthen againI am not normally giving audibles about cracks in the road or suchas mountianbikers tend to read things for themselves although there are warnings and recommendations of gear changing, step up in techincal section approaching, and the guide to the best line to make it work

the cat and mouse continued we had passed a number of cyclist at our clipwe both had turned around and were working our way back

at conneticut avenue we get caught at a light togethersome friendly words were sharedeye contact was madeshe was in fact femaleshe slowed her pace and we pedaled along side of each other

it was nice to share the ride with someonesome quick exhange of Q&Aall very friendly and niceI mention I wish I had my camerathinking of mounting it on the handlebars

there is mention of my blog and the images of cyclists

we run out of roadI pass the turn to the Capitol Crescent Trailshe slows for the slight downhill and I wait for her at the lightwe say our goodbyesas much as I would have liked to continue the conversation I could already feel that I was not going to make my two and a half hour desired destination

it makes sense to think that I could just keep ridingbut I couldn't I would just have to go home and end my ridethe capitol crescent trail would extend my ride a little bit and allow for more if I felt the need

the slight grade down the capitol crescent trail was a pleasurethe slow pace allowed for a pretty much no handed glidegoing for the handlebars when passing other trail usersgoing for the brakes when unpredictable trail users came from the opposite direction

the paved path runs parallel to the c&o canal in its final milesanother great place for me to let my mind wanderI think about so many rides on so many different stretches of the canalmy mind wanders about the pieces of land between the canal and the potomac

a recurring daydream about the nps allowing some of this land by fletchers boat house opening up to some formally built trailsthrough the trees I see some rocky sectionsthere are signs of high water pushing deadwood great a decent distance from the potomac shoresmy daydream include irragation, bridgesand of course clean upthe wasteland of deadwood becomes an urban playground

the trail feeds into georgetownbefore dipping under the whitehurst freeway I check the timeconsider stretching it consider a right turn to haines pointor maybe a right turn then over the bridge into virginia only to grab the next bridge back into washington

the glance at the watch had me thinking of the value to a few more minutes on the bike versus the value of getting home to the family

got home to the kidsgrant was just waking up from a napwoke up with a serious mood

it took some serious work to get grant distracted and playinghis runny nose and slight cold has taken over his moodbut bionicles were able to distract himdean and grant were playing impressively well

there was need for a diaper change and me to start dinnerlisa had at my request some ingredients for fajitasit was getting lateif we were going to eat I had best start cooking

it was not easy to lure the boys downstairsthey were playing so wellgrant's mood could still be grumpy so I tried to coral them gentlyI offered to make a couch fort

couch forts are big with the kidsnot so much fun for parentslots of fun for the kidsat times the boys can tear the fort down in less time that it takes to makepart of making a couch fort is rebuilding it and maintaining it

evolving it to a working state

once the structure was solid enoughand to their likingI could slip into the kitchen while they playedbefore I had the flank steak and the chicken out of the fridge there were boys at each kneethey were playing welldean was chasing grantgrant was seeking shelter in a joking manner at my side

without being too grumpy I tried to persuade them to stick to the fortthe meat started to cook so I went back into the living room to maintain the fort

it was not easy chopping onions and peppers without chopping off a finger

just as the dinner was complete lisa came in the door with a load of grocerieslike racoons at a campsite the boys started tearing through the plastic bagsI demanded that no one eat as I was cooking something bettereverything in the bag was presented as a better option...

lisa was able to gather the boys she had them wash their hands then sit at the tablewith them everyone at the table I was ready to serve dinner

the whole process makes me appreciate the actions of my wifeshe is not a stay at home momshe works part timealthough she is a full time momevery time lisa cooks she is able to cook with the monkeys hanging from her hipwithout much complaintwithout chopping off a finger

if each subculture

if each subculture just shared the word that it is better to stop at stop lines than to roll to the middle of the intersectionif each subculture just shared the word that it is better to make a complete stop rather than rolling through all togetherthink about itif any cyclist were to alter their behavior while they are in a carto simply slow to a complete stop at the stop line at each intersection that demands suchwell, that in itself would make the roads a safer place

now, if each cyclist could extend this stop sign common sense/common courtesy gesturewell, that would cause an increase in safer drivers which means safer streetstake it to the fabregee shampoo adand so onand so onand so on

well, each subculture could as individuals take on this same challengecertainly all mom's would see that this make senseno mom want to feel threatened that they can not cross the streetnever sure if the approaching car is going to stop at the right moment and yeild the right of waywell, I am sure every mom that ever pushed a stroller has more than one story about a close call from a careless driver failing to stop at a stop sign nearly hitting the strollernot to mention the basic discourteous nature of cars "blocking the box"sitting stagnant in traffic with the car basically parked over the cross walkworse yet... blocking the handicap ramp which makes life with a stroller so much easieryes, the subculture of the mom should be easy to enlistnow, have each mom no matter how new no matter how old each live by this same sense of stop sign common sense and common courtesywell, have them extend this by infecting one friend with this same notionperferably a friend... not their husbandalthough we want their husbands to join the movementwe do not want them being told how to drive by their wivesas that may backfire causing more stop sign running, box blocking, and basic slow roll through that people have come to foolishly accept as okay

let this grow and grow....any subculture that uses the street would be able to understand this simple improvement to the state of the worldwhy not?cyclists and moms extend to roller bladers, walkers/hikers/runners, and so on and so on

but it would not have to only include the subcultures that it immediately benefitsany other subculture should be able to empathise and join the movement as wellrowers know what it is like to feel the wake of some jerk with a mullet on a jetskias they do not want to be a jerk on a jet ski they will understand that they should make complete stops at the stop line

divers know what it is like to be in fear of having a powerboat propeller run through their back like a saber sawso this subculture would easily understand what more fun each person on the street would have if they were not paranoid that the approaching car will neglect to stop.... or even not stop in time.... which could be too late

I could rant from subculture to subcultureno matter what the subcultureit would makes senseandit would be an improvement

the positive side effects of this one change in behavior ripples beyond belief

now... how do we get this started?

well, I have startedI spend a lot of time watching in my rear view mirror fearing getting rear endedtoo much proper behavior on the road will encite road ragetried driving the speed limit... that flips people outthere is a reasonable limit of expanding the speed limitpeople have exceeded thatthere is no reasonable measure of roll through a stop signthe car either stops or it doesn'tit either stops in time or it doesn't

basic street scene

fixed gear fueling up

pinballs

the flow of traffic amuses meas I ride my bikeas I walk my dogsas I move about the busy streets with my kidsas I make that more frequent than occassional drive in my carin all of these cases I am amused by the flow of trafficnot just amusedalso terrified and angered

what amuses me is that the effort to get their faster is really slowing things downtoo many drivers confuse acceleration and maximum speed for getting their more rapidlyefficiency is the keyit is a bit more like the tortosie and the hareor perhaps more like a couple of handfuls of marbles thrown into the sinkwithout thought the marbles knock into each othertoo many marbles trying to fit into the same spot cause the marbles to get caught pressed against each otherstuck in place rather than passing on through

that is how the traffic flows in the citydue to the mindless momentumthe foolish confusion trying to achieve speed rather than using thought and seeking efficiencynever evoling never learningalways trying to force the square through the circle slot

the us capitol building

us capitol buildingthis week I had some work to do up on the hillwhile out of the office I like to travel with camera in handnot to go into great detail...while on the hill taking a few random shots of this beautiful city I was approached by two capitol hill police officers simultaneouslythey were polite and respectableI understand that these are different timesbut honestly.... the whole area was mobbed with tourists taking photographswhy was I singled out?

these are odd timesI like my big brotherbut I am no fan of big brotherit is important for them to follow leadsand chase down suspicious behavior....but where do I fit into that equation?

over to city bikes

last night I scheduled with the family a trip to city bikes in chevy chaseyes, the adams morgan shop is closer to my housesignificantly closer... as neither shop is faryet, the chevy chase shop offers parking, a larger store, a slightly less urban feel, and a mechanic that is expecting my arrival

time was moving fastnot in terms of the evening, but in terms of the changing seasonsthe race season is just weeks awayit seemed prudent for me to take some of my own advice that was written up in the March issue of SPOKESin this article I gave an absolute beginner's approach to the mountainbike seasontalking about the bike, the body, and the trailwithin this adolescent article effort I spoke about getting the bike into the shop sooner rather than laterlater was rapidly approaching... as I had not done things sooner... immediately would have to be good enough

it took some time for that advice to sink inwell, it took budgeting some time and the cracking of a Karate Monkey frame to get me into the shop

so, after an hour at rush hour of battling it out with the cars on a short loop through Rock Creek ParkI arrived home to a house of wild monkeysdean and grant were as wild as wild can betheir energy was all over the placelisa had dinner prepared, but the boys were too wild to eatwhen I went for the leashes to walk the dogsthe boys each asked to go with methe boys each demanded to go with mewhen the boys energy is like this a structured activity can be positiveexercise is almost always positive, unless of course you need to rest from an injurythese guys needed to get outside before they caused an injuryat times like this it can be positively imposible to get them to listen long enough to get ready to gothere were shoes to locate and hats to findwith a Petzel on my head the boys demanded Petzels on theirsjackets were being peeled off as I tried to aid tieing shoes for the otherhiking boots on one child caused the other to want a change of shoesreally just the basic father of two boys bullshitthis moment in the evening that is not unlike most moments in the morning or any moment when trying to get out the door

the hike was not particularly eventfulI was pleased to get a short walk after a short ridepart of my "life is cumulative" short work out training planthe boys were not given lights even after their demandsbut the each managed to hike well enough even after the light was gone and the world took that dark violet crayon coloron more rocky or rooted sections I pointed the blue HID glow so that my able bodied two year old did not do an unnecccessary face plant

we returned homethe boys were a little more focused on foodI built a couch cushion fort to entertain them while I went to the bike shopmy efforts to make the evening easier for my wife ended up distracting the boys from their dinnerthey are good eaters... if they are hungry they will eatwe allowed the distractionwith the boys entertained with the cushion, chair, blanket, couch fort combo I was able to load the Element with two bikesone of the parts I needed from the shop was a roof rack partas the clearance at the local fresh fields parking garage is not what it claimslisa returned from shopping one day with a broken roof rackso the bikes were put inside the vehicle rather than ontop

thursday night is a classic late night for the bike shop worldit is a convention that was created at some point in bike shop historyit makes sense for the modern worldas weekends and work hours are not always convenient for the standard cyclist with a basic 9-5 routinebut I do not know what shop in what era of time this late night thursday routine began

driving a stretch of road I had ridden earlier I made my way to chevy chase marylandI rolled the two bikes to the back of the shop greeting the colorful cast of city bikes characterswhen I got to the back of the shop it was good to see that bega was expecting me and was ready to take these bikes in for their needed repairsthe Surly Karate Monkey Single Speed was in for a warranty replacement of the cracked frameso the frame would need to be stripped of its parts then sent back to Surlywhile the geared Monkey had not been ridden in monthsas a matter of fact I had removed the race numbers from the Shenandoah Mountain 100 from the handlebars before packing up the Honda Element aka the toasterthe geared bike was feeling pretty "tight" but I figured I would have a few things done in the way of preventive maintenancewanted the bikes to be race worthynot looking for a game of "wack-a-mole" on race day

with the bikes processed for repairs there was talk with sean bega about my recovery from a fall injury among other thingsbega drove me away with his loose shoulder joint and his loose shoulder tricksI can not stomach such things... not in a gross way... more in a way that hurts to look atin any movie where there is a shoulder dislocation scene I need to look away and take my mind to a happy place

shawn helped me shop for a bike for my wifethen aided in finding a cable hanger for the fixed gear project that has been dragging alongwe made the Thule order and he gave me a deal on the OFF ROAD TO ATHENS filmalthough I have seen it twice I had been meaning to purchase itas the DVDs are not moving as fast as they had hoped he gave it to me for 14 bucks(a deal he will make for anyone, Off Road to Athens for 14 bucks plus tax)

the shop experience involved it usual club house exchangesthere was some talk about new gear and new bikesdiscussions about 29er this and 29er that

walked away with a bag of stuffsome lights, some tubes, the dvd, the cable hanger, and a catalog to show the wifealthough I had not really done anythingdropping off the bikes to be worked on was something that needed to be doneso there was a certain feeling of accomplishmentshould have those two bikes back in my possession soon enoughat this point I will begin my return to dirt!it will be a wonderful reunionuntil then I will continue slugging it out on the roadhopefully the weather will be nice this weekend so I can pull the kids in the burley trailerpulling 100 pounds of trailer for an hour and a half should translate into some sort of training

in addition to the drop off and purchases I also made a pick upthe owners of City Bikes were generous enough to donate a Timbuk2 Messenger bag to a fund raising auction that my older son's school is having

3.23.2006

that wave of thanks

in society there are certain little "nicities" that we usethose thanks that we saywe mean them... but they are some what retorical in some cases I would prefer to avoid them all together

when out for dinner with the wife I tend to be polite to the waiter or bus boy as they refill my water or take away my dishthere is a short pause from the conversation that is usually accompanied with a glance, a nod of the head, and a verbal thank youthe thank you is meant...that thank you should remain

while moving about the city streets on foot or on bike there are similar such exchangeswhen crossing the street and a car yeilds to me there is often eye contact... then a thank and a wavethis thank and wave is given in most every situation... even if I as the pedestrian have the right of wayas a cyclist I experience the same sort of thing

when stopped at a four way intersection(yes, I occassionally stop at stop signs)I wait my turnbeing a car driver and having an IQ over 80 I am able to establish by each person's arrival the line in the queuewhen it is in fact my turn I take that turn and move forward... always paying close attention anticipating the action of the car driversso often when my turn arrives a car driver will wave me onto that I am force to give that nod and thanks....what am I thanking them for? not running me over?they have let me take what is mineis there someone I should be thanking each time I take a breath?(okay... the religious types may have a response for that)but there are certain things that irk me....

the same nod and wave of thanks aggatates me when I pull my dogs or children to the side of the alley so that a car can pass by like the car has greater rightsand I am just a pedestrian in the way

yes... these little "nicities" are valuableI like to hear a thank you when I hold the door open for someoneor when I yeild to them as we squeeze by a tight space in a hardware store or a restaurant

another brick story?

another brick story was created on the blog this morningas I was building to a climatic end of a personal account of a historical eventgrant the smaller of my little monkeys took a break from wrestling his older brother to turn off my computerwith the push of one glowing blue button I saw the screen go blackno signal... no chance to publish and postthe basic tale was of the Mount Pleasant Riots in 1991

there was talk of tear gasboarded up bike shopsthe actions of a former dc punk kid who took the actions from works to aggressionas he walked out with a handful of stolen goods from 7-11 on Mount Pleasant Streetwith his face hidden with a sweat shirt wrapped around his head he turned around and returned one of the full cans of cokehe returned it right through the front window of that 7-11like the shot heard around the worldthe flood gates openedshouting and screaming moved to looting and destruction

it was that action that took the energy on the streets to action on the streetsmad and dangerous action

it was the mob against the establishment

I rode the streets curiously on my bicyclean innocent bystander like so many otherswatching the danger unfold in front of meamazed that people were not getting more hurt with all the flying rocks and speeding police carsshocked to see the police risk lives as the sped down the streets lights flashingonly to chase a small child for tossing a rock

buildings were on firepolice cars were over turnedmetro buses were burnt to nothing more than large aluminum skeletons

the looting seemed so calculatedyoung boys ran from the CVS then People's Drugs with what looked like a list of packages requested by their moms; pampers... midol... whole milk... eggs... and coffee... not the power rangers and chocolate bars I had expected to see in their hands

there was one small child with a grand smile pushed a shopping cart full of bricksas I rolled past slowly with sunglasses over my eyes and moist bandana over my nose and mouth both shielding me from the burn of tear gas I commented on this young enteprenuer...making mention that he would get rich selling the bricks for a dollarto that the cute little child responded with the timing of a professional comedian.... "shit... you throw these bricks at a cop car and I will give you them for free"

I wonderI can not help but wondersome forteen years later... has this same young boy from Columbia Heights grown up only to continue to hurl bricks at passerbys?

CLONE THIS WOMAN

as a father of two boys I would have to say that there is a double standard

is what she did wrong?yeswas it rape?not sureit just is not fair...where was this woman when I was 14?

if we had more teachers like this in the US school system we would certainly have less high school boys cutting class

I feel sorry for her husbandI feel sorry for her next husband

the 14 year old boy...I am not so sure I feel sorry for him

honestly....it is wrong for anyone (even if they are hot) to abuse their position (no pun intended)there are members of the community that we teach our children to trust; police officers, teachers, and even priestsso... when a child finds themselves in the the presence of a predator.... well the signals must be confusingnow this predator is even more confusing... for the obvious reasonsI am with the judgeI think she should have seen some time... just because she is cute does not mean that she did not commit a crimevideo?yes.. we all want to see video of this woman

cut and paste from the web

Columbia Heights Cyclists Beware

A faithful reader tipped us off to a Craigslist posting that may be somewhat disturbing for those of us that ride our bikes around town. Titled "Bicyclists: Have you ever been struck by a hurled object while riding?," it reads:

I have been. My leg is broken right now as a result of being struck by a brick that was hurled at me from the balcony of an apartment building on 11th Street. The cops haven't done anything for me because A) I don't have a postive ID of the perpetrator, and 2) I didn't stop to see if there were any witnesses. I know which building it came from and roughly which balcony, but they insist they can't ask any questions of the occupants of the building based on this. I'm quite angry. The receptionist at my workplace said she saw the exact same thing happen to a different bicyclist in the exact same place back in November. If something like this happened to you *and you filed a police report, or have other documentation*, please write to me. If I find enough people for this to look like a legitimate "trend," I want to investigate and write about this.

We're not the types to trust Craigslist posting for news stories, but having suffered from some people's apparent grief with cycling and cyclists, we can see this being both true and alarming. So, if you know something of incidents like these, please let us know. Posted by Martin Austermuhle in News

stolen from DCistI think I saw this post already mentioned on WASHCYCLE

mondays

it is not an original thought to hate mondaysa monday after a wonderful vacation can have an even more negative effectwithin the notion of the monday blues there is a certain level of apathy and inertia

for those of us that try to stay active or meet certain personal activity requirements for some it is going to the gym three times a weekothers it is yoga three times a week (wish that were me)then for the cyclist there is the minimum rides perweek

monday is a vital day in this equationit is the first day of the week it the individual allows the apathy to dictate the day then they can scratch off this day as a potentially active daywhile those whole are concious of this inert monday can combat this apathy and get the first work out in (yes... I know Sunday starts the week on the calendar)

if a person gets a ride, a yoga session, or a trip to the gym out of the way on Mondaythey have started the week in a positive fashionwhile also knocking one work out of the fast moving already busy weekif they fail to work out on Monday they may find it to be Thursday morning with no workouts accomplished on that weekthus scratching the week shrugging the shouldersand allowing the week to slip by promising to resume working out on the following weekthis is a failing approach

there are always a thousand reasons not to work outdon't fall victim to the excusesit is our nature to be lazyall animals are lazy by naturethe lion attacks the weakest gazzelle in the herda bald eagle will dig through trash before it huntsmost animals will dig through trash before they hunt

the morning and the evening can have a similar effectwithin my daily routine I have to schedule in my personal Physical Therapy Exercisesthree times a week I am supposed to add onto my regular daily routine some surgical band exercies (a poor man's bowflex)well, the evening comes alongthere are dogs to walk dinner to eatkids to play withthen there is the effort of getting the kids to go to sleep and stay in bed

last night as I was getting ready for my evening workout I heard a loud thump from the upstairsthe loud thump was followed by cryingit was dean the older boy not the youngerhe has been moved to the twin bed without the rails so that his younger brother can sleep in his roomthis is the second time this week he has tumbled out of bed

I rushed upstairs to his aidas a parent we try not to overplay tripping and falling, the skinning of a knee, or the basic knocking of headsbut, to fall out of bed is a rude awakeningso I went up to try and lessen the blowmanaged to get Dean to settle down then back in bedhe was upset but still pretty much asleep through the whole exchangetried to alter his mood with mention of the return of training wheels to his bikethere was some talk back and forth that was confusing in his half wake/half dream state

so I went back downstairsjust as I was settling in with the Chappelle Show First Season DVD about to get out my surgical bands and single dumb-bell I heard a second thumpthen the sound of cryingthen the sound of feet moving rapidly down the hall, then down the stairsthere were tearfilled cries for daddywe spoke as he rushed down the stairs as I powered off the television and the laptop

dean came running up to me with a red face and tears on his cheekI knew he wanted to sleep in the "mommy bed"I granted him his wishwith all the disruption I figured I would go to bed as wellgo to bed without finishing my exercies

so, the evenings and the mornings work like the mondays and the weekget it out earlyor you may not ever get thereas it the case with my evening efforts to do my PT work out

what will I do today?I will try to fit in my physical therapy some time before the eveningso it will not get lost in the shuffle

3.21.2006

Volunteers Needed for Bike Valet

Valet bike parkers will work similar to a coat check clerk. Taking in bikes and giving the owner a claim ticket which the owner will use to claim the bike. Detailed instructions are available and will be given to volunteers. The valet bike parking area will be located at 15th and Independence Ave near the TidalBasin. All volunteers will get an official National Cherry Blossom Festival volunteer t-shirt.

City Bikes DC

City Bikes Washington DCwith two locations in the DC areaone downtown location in the neighborhood of Adams Morgan and another just outside the district inside the beltway in Chevy Chase MarylandCity Bikes DC has updated their sitethere is mention of the Bike Valet that WABA is providing at the Cherry Blossomsbikewashington.org

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Say No To CRACK!

yes... it is trueI broke my Karate Monkey frameCITYBIKESMIKE has an image of the crack on his blogthere should be no issue with warranty as Surly is good about these thingsshould be back on the Karate Monkey Single Speed in no time at all!

if you look at the image you will see the cracksome additional scrapes were made to see if it was just chipped paint or a cracked frameit is in fact a cracked frame

3.19.2006

back from vacation, back on the bike

got back from florida yesterdaygot back on the bike today

it was a bike filled day as dean and his mini-cohorts mobbed the back alley with their bikesone friend joined dean on a training wheel-free adventurethey both did welldean again was more into the notion of skidding his bike than pedalling forwardalthough he could stay upright and pedal the distance of several garageshis tendency was to skid as soon as he got moving

success just the samethe boy is four and he is having fun on the bikeI seem to recall skidding and dragging my sneakers to be a big part of cycling for many years turning is a variable that he does not use in the world without training wheels

so through the course of the day bikes were borrowedtraining wheeled bike options were presentthey all got to ride their bikeshelmets and all

later in the afternoon after things had toned down a bit I snuck out on the bikemanaged to hit Rock Creek Park out past the mormon temple doing an old favorite up and backspun for about an hour thirtyactually rode the bike and mashed the pedals like I domore like slamming the pedals than circlesgot there and back just the same

returned homewas reminded that the dogs had to go outas they had not been out since the morning hike on the melvin hazenwell, nothing to speak of although they were present with the bikes in the back alleywhere they spent hours in a stalemate starring at a cat through a impassable fence

good for the kids to get on the bikegood for dad to get on the bikea good day for alla good bike filled day for allit was not plannedthere was talk about buying a new bike for the wifeit has been years..... her fisher is pre-treka pre-trek hoo koo e koo is not much to speak of

she could use with braking, shifting, and travel.... she has never had any suspension that really workedtechnology has come along waysure people are rushing for rigid single speedsbut the technology is still there for those that want it

no pictures of he biker gang in the alleytoo busy participating to play daddy photographerliving and experiencing is more important than documentingalthough documenting is vital as well

when I got back from my ride I saw the biker gang was back outwell.... the bikes and helmets were outwhich showed signs of a return to the alley for more ridingthey were in a neighbor's kid's club housetwo young neighbors threw on their helmet and raced me down the block

photo finish reveals a tie to all eventswell...other than the third lap race where i peeled off early and ran into my own backyard

Chain Reaction

Chain Reaction has updated their website, finallylooks like Chain Reaction has something blog-esque

this chain reaction motion something was something I threw together and tossed on my blog some time agoit moves on the blog.... ancient gif builder piecedonating bicycles and bicycle equipment is something helpful we all can do

then again...getting a bike into a non-bike person's hands is often something that can change a person's worldthat is a great feeling... seeing people years later using a bike that you got into their hands as a daily mode of transportation for years

in the city so many kids treat the bike shop as a service to the publicit is great when there is a shop that is actually designed as being a service to the public rather than a business

dirt rag is good to me

dirt rag is good to mea few weeks ago I went ahead and took the plungeinstead of just renewing my subscription I got the subscription for lifemakes sensea few times I have let my subscription lapse and well... I was lazy about renewalwell....with the season just starting I renewed only missing one issuewhich upon ordering the lifetime subscription they asked if I wanted to get the past single subscription that I missedheck yea!sure enough in the mail when I got back from vacation was an envelope with last month's dirt rag

a pleasant surprisewent ahead and paged throughthen drifted back to the beginningread a few pieces as I paged through more slowlytaking in the full magazine piece by piecereading the stories that meet my needs and interest of the momentimages and advertising capture my attentioncaptions benieth images capture my attentionI read through another articlesome commentarysome reviewseventually getting to the end and reading a great piece the last and final piece was a contribution by Jeff Guerrero

it was a short article with some nice illustration that I read without knowing that the contributor was the art directorsomehow I looked at the illustrator but not the author

the notion of trail maintenance or guriella trail repair is a great feelingjust as their is pride in the improvement/addition/contributionthere is a protective anger when the trail is abusedabuse from riding/walking/riding wideabuse from trail blazing/short cutting the trail (way the worst)abuse from leaving trash

I do similar work locally on various hiking trailsto see a simble terraced stairor a well placed log holding the side of the hillwell... it makes the time spent well worth it

to make a better world we all need to give as well as takeright now there are far too many takers and not enough givers

for some people giving is simplestop giving abusestop giving people trash to pick upthat would be contribution enough to improve the world of tomorrow

volunteering time on the trailspicking up trashthere are a thousand ways to contribute to your communitygiving piano lessons would not work for meas I do not play the pianabut... I try to give where I cangiving as well as takingeven if I just give a littleall the giving is cumulative and that giving adds up

make sure that you give as well as takeand if you give more than megood for youI am not saying I give the most... I certainly don'tbut as least I give a little

dirt rag image wa something I created a few years ago and was psyched when it was published in the reader's arthere is an amusing gwadzilla archive of that moment in time

creative, crafty, or perhaps creatively crafty

SPOKES MAG

not sure why....blogger is ruining my blog-fun by denying my posting of imagesplugged into the router thinking it was a weak WiFi connectionthat changed nothingreally takes away the flow of creating and viewing the pages

this month's SPOKES magazine has an article from fellow blogger Captain Jack Sparrownot just an article, but a cover story with imageswell worth a look

while gwadzilla tried typing into Word rather than Bloggertough having an audience of the massesswing by your local Mid-Atlantic bicycle shop and grab a copy of SPOKESthere are a variety of articles that will entertain many aspects of cycling mind

just submitted another article for next monththe topic for April? THE BICYCLE BLOG

in the BLOG article I plug a variety of blogswanted to plug morebut... wanted an article not just a listoff the top of my headbikeblogs,bicycleblogs, washcycle, bikeportland, fatmarc (aka david karesh), fatmarc's cult, jeremiah bishop, marla streb, gundog99, goclipless, bluecolarmtb,singlespeedoutlaw, bikecentric, then there were those abroad... velorution and martino's bike diaryand of course... those in alaska; up in alaska and bicycles and iciclesthat may be itothers had been listed or mentionedbut... the article was getting to be too longsome ideas had to hit the edit room floorwanted to turn everyone onto so many great blogshopefully the links will take them there

to give warning to those authors to be on their best blog behavioror better yet... be on your worst blog behaviorthe article should be out in Apriltried to get the reader to understand navigating the blog...so the links on those pages may get attention as wellorthe article may go ignored

About Me

Name:gwadzilla

Location:Washington DC, (Mount Pleasant NW), United States

if you want to know about me all you need to do is check out my BLOG
it is not the same everyday or everyweek
the focus changes and alters with my moods and with the events of the day and the events of my life